Breathing
by Gem W
Summary: Suki makes a huge mistake that may jeopardize everything she has with Sokka. Inspired by the Yellowcard song, "Breathing".


So, I am going to do a collection of one-shots inspired by each song from Yellowcard's album, "Ocean Avenue". I really enjoy that album and each of the songs has a very distinct feel to it. I tend to get really inspired by music. These are _not_ songfics. They are just inspired by the songs and a few of the lines may be rephrased/alluded to within the story.

These one-shots will be quite varied as far as pairings go (and at least one of them won't have a pairing at all), so I'm hoping there will be something everyone will enjoy. This first one is Sokka/Suki, with just a dash of Suki/Zuko (the latter doesn't really have romance... you'll see what I mean).

I was originally planning to do this in the order of the album, but I'm having a little trouble with the first song, "Way Away". I had some ideas for what I wanted to do for it, but I'm still a little unsure. This one, on the other hand, "Breathing", came to me pretty easily.

Anyway, enjoy! Suggestions for future one-shots in the collection are welcomed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon, Mike, and Bryan do. I also don't own any songs on "Ocean Avenue". Those belong to Yellowcard.

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**Breathing**

One very brief, very accidental kiss was all it took.

The whole scene had been so cliché that, looking back, it almost made her laugh.

Almost.

He was up late, being his usual moody self, grunting and doing a bunch of ridiculously exaggerated-looking firebending drills. He seemed pissed off about something, but what did she know? She was awake because her boyfriend had a cold, so his snoring was making it impossible for her to sleep.

She came outside to have a cup of tea, not a goddamn fling.

She couldn't even clearly remember it. He had tripped on his way back in, but if gravity was working the way it's normally supposed to, he would've fallen flat on his face, not _into_ hers. Did he do it on purpose?

She didn't know, and, frankly, she didn't care. She should've known better. What the hell was her problem?

They had awkwardly dusted themselves off, but before she knew it, her body was acting of its own accord, and - seemingly - so was his. She didn't even _like_ him all that much. He was so... brooding.

But the hunger took over.

Touching, embracing, kissing, it all happened faster than she could process it. She knew better, but couldn't for the life of her make herself pull away. His hands seemed to be _everywhere_, and, much to her surprise, so were hers.

_'What am I doing?'_ she mentally chastised herself, even as her hands stealthily slid under his shirt. She had never felt so out of control of her own body.

"Zuko..." she breathed, ravenous kisses making speech nearly unachievable. "I shouldn't... I can't..."

At this, he paused and hovered a few inches above her, his chest heaving, eyes glazed over with his own hunger. "But you are."

And they resumed, falling to the ground. She couldn't form another coherent word.

Days later, Suki lay in bed next to Sokka, who was already sound asleep. The snoring had quieted, but... it was simply the breathing now. His _breathing_, serving to her as a constant, rhythmic reminder of his devoted presence in her bed, stopped her mind from resting even the slightest bit.

People talk about their hearts "sinking" but generally that feeling only lasts a second. Suki now felt it all night, every night in bed with Sokka, along with every time she saw him, heard him, touched him, or thought about him. Ever since... _it_. It wouldn't stop.

She knew if she ever wanted the slightest chance for him to trust her again, she needed to tell him before he figured it out on his own. But Spirits... would Zuko survive the confrontation that would likely follow? Did she care? I mean, this was his fault, right?

...Dammit.

How would she ever even explain this to Sokka? "Hey, so, I slept with Zuko, but it was an accident. I still love you."? There was no way to make this sound remotely understandable. A week ago, she probably wouldn't have forgiven him for the exact same offense.

What if she just didn't tell? She knew she still loved Sokka and that what had happened meant nothing. Zuko certainly wouldn't dare tell. Could she just keep this a secret?

She sighed heavily and rolled onto her side, facing away from her sleeping boyfriend. She knew the answer to that question. Every time he kissed her, she felt this horrible confession struggling to spring from her lips. Eventually she wouldn't be able to choke it down anymore.

Having made a decision, she rolled herself softly out of bed, not disturbing Sokka in the slightest, and wrapped herself in a robe before heading outside.

Predictably, she found the firebender outside again, doing his drills with even more fervor than before. She paused in the doorway of the large house they were all staying in, then took a deep breath and walked towards the clearing where Zuko was training.

"Zuko," she called out firmly.

He stopped mid-routine and turned his head, dropping his hands upon registering who it was. His face turned a shade redder. They hadn't spoken since, and he had been dreading it. "Suki?" he responded, a bit quiet.

She took a few steps closer, now that he didn't look like he was about to shoot fireballs out of his palms. She met his eyes and spoke evenly, "I'm telling him."

He turned the rest of his body to face her, blinking surprisedly. "You're- You're telling him? Do you really think that's a good-"

"Yes, Zuko, I do," she cut him off, her voice rising. "This isn't fair to him. I'm not keeping him in the dark anymore."

He nodded slowly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just... don't think he'll take it well..."

She squeezed her eyes shut and dug her fingernails into her palms, willing the tears to wait. "You think I don't know that?" she cried out angrily. "But he loves me and trusts me so much. This will kill him, but I can't keep lying. He... He deserves better," she stammered out.

There was a long pause as Suki tried to compose herself, Zuko not having a clue what to say.

She wrapped her arms around her midsection and looked away from him. "Look," she said, her voice lowered, "I don't have the slightest clue what happened the other night... but it was a mistake. I may have thrown away the only love I've ever known. But now... Sokka needs to know. I'm setting this right." She turned and walked back toward the house, not waiting for Zuko's reaction.

She padded softly back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Removing her robe, she crawled back into bed next to her boyfriend, who was still totally unconscious. She bit her lip, the tears beginning to fall with no hope of restraint, as she reached over and gently shook Sokka awake.

"Hmm? What is it, Suki?" he asked groggily, rolling over to face her. "Are we being attacked?"

She let out a soft, uncharacteristically scared whimper, prompting him to wake up more fully and reach out an arm to wrap around her. "Suki? What's wrong?" he asked, wanting nothing more than to stop her tears.

She hated that he was trying to comfort her when she was about to break his heart. But she had to go through with this. She sniffed and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sokka. I need to tell you something."


End file.
